Ocular to the Dying Sun

Voices of Hurting; part 5

“I’ve instructed them to report back as fast as they could when they find traces of your daughter or her caretaker. With the state of the forest, the number of places they could hide is vast, but we have the equipment to search for people and their presence. One of them will be the two of them." He finished as he lightly smiled. "Thank you for giving us all another day to live, come back safely. My daughters will be angry if you don't come back safely and with their future inaanak.”

His words lit up a small kind of hope she could feel from the heart of her considered good friend and mentor. With a heart heavy from the burden of a fault not of her own, she leaves to follow the searching party Verbasi sent out to the forest. Doubtful that her heart could ever recover from the multitude of held sorrow and anger she’s bottled up from the beginning of the Ocular ending ceremonies.

Riding a Sari-manok on her way inside the ceremonial grounds, the damage extends from the start of the wall gates until the garden borders are covered with soil and lite debris. Everyone is out and about either settling down or making sure people are cured or tended to by magicians and focus healers.

She entered the premise of the residentials and found the location marker the specific search party left for people to use or utilize. Not staying to see the wreckage for herself, due to the magic she was resonating outward as a form of clairvoyance in a specific parameter, she knew that the presence of her daughter and Elder Lymantera had gone from the place.

Skies blurred as she rode following the path towards the grounds and nothing but distracted waves of huffing filled her lungs and ears, soon, when she reached the plains of ruined forests, she could see the extent of their damage. She couldn’t consider this ruin something they were not responsible for, what a waste, her thought runs.

Searching the ground was not easy even if she extended her clairvoyance's reach. The more she does, the larger the number of survivors she could sense from both humans and creatures, but not of her daughter and the elder. Soon her eyes were watering and frustration built so much, for the second time, that she stopped the Sari-manok she rode and leaned forward.

Tears couldn't stop streaming from her cheeks like a broken waterspout, salty, sad tears couldn't be contained, and they spilled onto the feathers of her stead. Over, and over again, in her mind, she blamed herself, as if she couldn’t see the light of her child’s life. That, only their presence in front of her eyes would be the only thing that could convince her everything was fruitful after defeating all those creatures.

Never mind thinking she could try being a good mother and spend time with her daughter, as a way to appease her broken soul and heart, she couldn’t even think of her daughter in a crisis during an Ocular. Perhaps it was too much to believe she shouldn't let her mistake affect her, it should affect her, especially in these trying times.

When she got pregnant, she didn't bother thinking about who or where the father could be, all she wanted was to be happy and believe she was happy in the presence of bearing herself a blood-related family. That wasn't a whimsical obligation decided on the spur of the moment, she decided that the child was hers and nothing could stop her. Nothing should have stopped her.

But even until the end of this pregnancy she forgot she wasn’t just a simple woman, she was the Prime Magician, and her tears belonged to the people of this land.

Lifting her chin as she felt the resolve to search for her child, but at the same time couldn't look away from the help that was needed around her. Instead of wallowing in further self-pity, she resolved to call for Sacr and Epiro, the two people she knew to whom she could extend her magic.

Her wisp traveled fast that they arrived at her side in less than five minutes, enough to say that Sacr’s Sari-manok stead was not tired from its stressful night. The creature heaved a cry upon arrival and her two subordinates landed beside her in a ready stance willing to do her bidding.

“We arrived as fast as your bulong can muster,” Sacr said as she nodded to Yphemu who still sat on her Sari-manok, even though it was now sitting down to rest. "We can help search for them and clear the other areas for stray Dire-eaters."

"The area I and my time are looking at is still infested with Sprouts, I've ordered them to kill those things on sight. At least, those that are heavily wounded." Epiro reassured as he also nodded at Yphemu stating, "if it extends the reach of your clairvoyance, we will gladly lend our hand. We don't want your firstborn to be lost in this sea of ickiness."

“Thank you,” Yphemu said as she sniffed. Her face was tear-stricken but stayed strong and focused.

Her strength still felt down and depleted, enough of a reason not to push herself as even if she was the strongest magician with her pool of magic, her body is not impregnable from exhaustion. Deliberating how much ground they would cover was not a problem for Yphemu due to the presence of the Sari-manok and the speed at which they could muster.

Second thoughts clouded and third thoughts buried, they all commenced their bidding for each area they could reach. Doing both duties disposing of the unwanted creatures and deliberating the lay of the land for the extent of the damage is nothing short of an eye opener to the massive fear a Dire-eater could instill in humans.

An example of this is Epiro and how different his mindset was after seeing larger-than-life creatures immensely overpowering them. He's seen creatures the size of three-story buildings back in the city proper, of the All-Monarch Kingdom.

The first thing he thought was, all those creatures can be fairly handled if given the right practice and timing for his men. Foot soldiers most of them may be, but they are people with strength, stamina, and endurance enough to boost their lack of skill in the short run.

They’ve had the chance to fight a group of Ikbal’ang that were maliciously infesting a few outskirt lands outside the Kingdom that needed cleansing from corroding Slitark-shards that severely attracts Dire-eater and poisons the land. He's struggled to adapt to their size due to his ignorance of his opponent, but he managed to subdue them in time.

Compared to the majesty of a Dire-eater Mother and Father, he could say that he can guess why it's an awe-inspiring horror to witness their flock in the presence of the humans. But he had to overcome that feeling in a blink. Like right now as he witnessed a medium-sized Dire-eater, called Father, rise and recover from their injuries, he had to handle this even on his own with a few soldiers on the field.

Sacr was just a few meters from this incident, and she helped Epiro with this still-living Dire-eater. All she had was her gun as a form of distraction since its firepower to damage anyone has depleted. She can only use the superficial fire magic, that could produce flares and whatnot.

Great may the creatures’ presence is, it cannot hide the injuries it received preciously. With damaged tendrils and half its body partially burned, it was a miracle that it could still move, at least it garnered them enough opportunity to simply use their weapons to further inflict dealing blows that could kill the creature.

Using the last shard bullet in Epiro’s bolster, one that they use as a projectile, he poised his slingshot in his hand, and in one swipe he blasted half the face of the creature. Burning flesh scattered and the Dire-eater flailed before several pikemen stabbed it from under to retain it in place and Epiro jumped from Sacr’s Sari-manok to stab its head.

Their victory was completed when the creature flailed only to fall over other smaller-sized Dire-eaters that were eventually waking up as if the medium-sized one protected them. Epiro dismissed this visage and let himself free of the sword that was now stuck on the skull of the creature.

Swinging his sword of the Dire-eater’s blood, Sacr joined him and had him ride behind.

“Still no signs,” Sacr said as they rode further, their distance from Yphemu meters behind her. “Wipe that snot from your nose, did it finally kick in that our Lady’s job is more burdensome than you think?”

Epiro looked at her and realized that he wasn’t just sweating, but he seemed to have cried. Somehow the relief of him when Sacr noticed he was crying settled and the signs of their surrounding may still be in danger but there was a feeling of victory inside of him that couldn't stop from rising.

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